Keith Olbermann Quits "Countdown"

Depending what side of the ideological fence you stand on, this could be either the best news you've heard all day or the worst you've heard all day. Anyhow, Keith Olbermann has officially decided to quit his long-running and high-paying gig as host of MSNBC's "Countdown"; Yahoo! News has further details right here...

Quote :

Keith Olbermann gives abrupt goodbye to MSNBC show

NEW YORK – Keith Olbermann was MSNBC's most popular personality and single-handedly led its transformation to an outspoken, left-leaning cable news network in prime time. Despite that, he often seemed to be walking on a tightrope with his job. Friday night, it snapped.

Olbermann returned from one last commercial break on "Countdown" to tell viewers it was his last broadcast, and read a James Thurber short story in a three-minute exit statement. Simultaneously, MSNBC e-mailed a statement that "MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract." The network thanked him and said, "we wish him well in his future endeavors."

Neither MSNBC President Phil Griffin, Olbermann nor his manager responded to requests to explain an exit so abrupt that Olbermann's face was still being featured on an MSNBC promotional ad 30 minutes after he had said goodbye.

Am I alone in thinking there was a major blowup between Messrs. Griffin and Olbermann backstage right before Olbermann announced his departure?

Chris91 wrote:

Am I alone in thinking there was a major blowup between Messrs. Griffin and Olbermann backstage right before Olbermann announced his departure?

No. You've got all the other right-wing goofs making the same assumption.

More likely this is the first salvo of Comcast as they take NBC/Universal over. Olbermann's staunchest supporter, Jeff Zucker, is getting heaved over the side when Comcast formally takes over, and the bosses at 30 Rock weren't too happy when it was revealed Olbermann made some campaign contributions (ignoring the fact that other show hosts on MSNBC also made contributions).

My question is did they do this in order to make sure he's on the bench through the 2012 election? His contract (which runs through 2012) had a provision barring him from appearing on any other network, even if NBC bought him out and showed him the door.

Spotts1701 wrote:

My question is did they do this in order to make sure he's on the bench through the 2012 election?

Considering some of Olbermann's past clashes with his employers, that's not entirely impossible. There's an article at Yahoo! commenting on Olbermann's past history with the MSNBC brass; you can read excerpts of it below.

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While Olbermann and MSNBC aren't talking about what specifically led to the departure, the host's move doesn't come as a big surprise given their recent history.

Olbermann has clashed with his bosses throughout his career, had recently been suspended and reportedly threatened with firing by MSNBC, and MSNBC's parent company NBC Universal recently merged with the cable company Comcast. All three could have played a role.

Olbermann suggested that the timing of his departure may have been out of his control.

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For years, some NBC executives and stars have questioned whether Olbermann's strident views tarnish the NBC News brand. Veterans like Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell have privately expressed concerns about Olbermann's partisan views, while MSNBC's coverage of major news events—such as the 2008 convention and 2010 midterms—raised questions about having opinionated hosts like Olbermann in the anchor chair. In October, the New York Times reported that top executives were even considering changing the name of MSNBC.com—the network's highly trafficked, non-partisan news site—because of a perceived connection to the cable network's liberal talkers.

Oh no. What will his 17 viewers watch now?

Mikey Go WOOGA wrote:

Oh no. What will his 17 viewers watch now?

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C'mon man...you gotta at least try. You're losing the audience.

Well shit, I actually liked Olbermann :-(

Now half of the stories I've seen say he quit, the other half say he got fired. I iz confuzzled.

I do wonder though, how long it will be before he moves to his inevitable home on CNN. The thought of him replacing White Women In Peril Tonight Nancy Grace fills my heart with glee¹. Though likely, he'll replace the Parker/Spitzer trainwreck.



1. TBPH, the Shamwow guy replacing Grace would fill my heart with glee.

Freezer wrote:

Now half of the stories I've seen say he quit, the other half say he got fired. I iz confuzzled.

Well, in any case, it's safe to say they didn't part on cordial terms.

When they're willing to pay millions to keep him off the air, there's probably some acrimony there, just sayin'.

The funny thing? This was still far and away his longest-lasting job.

Freezer wrote:

I do wonder though, how long it will be before he moves to his inevitable home on CNN. The thought of him replacing White Women In Peril Tonight Nancy Grace fills my heart with glee¹. Though likely, he'll replace the Parker/Spitzer trainwreck.

It'll be at least 18 months - NBC/Universal can enjoin any network or cable channel from putting him back on the air through the scheduled end of his contract (assuming this was not a mutual departure).